Today when I was cleaning out some old files, I found two tattered sheets of notebook paper from nearly twenty years ago. It had three columns I had made with pen–with each of Joshua (now 27); Kayla (now 24); and Cami (now 22) all written at the top of each column. Beneath each name was a list of things–songs, verses, rhymes stories, etc.
What was this twenty year old list for each of my first three children? It was a list of things that I was going to put on cassette for each one of them that year. A cassette that each one would have for himself or herself with my voice singing (!), reciting, etc. things that I wanted them to learn, things they loved, things I wanted them to hear over and over again.
Guess what? I never made that tape. Now, thankfully, I don’t have tons and tons of regrets as a parent. I wasn’t always perfect by any means, but I don’t look back over my nearly twenty-eight years of parenting with long lists of things that I wish I could change. (Everybody has some regrets, of course.) However, I regret not making these cassettes. I mean, really, how long could have they have taken? An hour each perhaps? They weren’t going to be studio quality, have sound effects or music, etc.
Obviously, it’s not a huge deal–and they all still love me (talked to each of the three for thirty to sixty minutes each one-on-one today, for example!), and they eventually learned their ABC’s, the words to “Victory in Jesus,” and many, many Bible verses in spite of my laxness. However, I want to use this tattered sheet of notebook paper to encourage all of our Positive Parenting 365 readers to not put off those awesome things you want to do for or with your kids. To not get to the end of your kids’ childhoods and wish that you had done this or that–especially to wish that you had or hadn’t done something that would have truly made a significant difference in the lives of your kids.
Read some of the cool stuff I was going to put on each child’s tape below…so fun just thinking about it!
Joshua–
1. WW II facts
2. “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”
3. “Lord’s Prayer”
4. Old Testament book song
5. New Testament books
6. Hard addition facts
7. “Victory in Jesus”
8. “For Those Tears I Died”
9. 21 Rules of This House
10. Name, Parents, Phone, Address
11. Odd numbers; even numbers
12. Skip counting
13. Twelve Disciples
14. Micah 4:8 song
15. Fruits of the Spirit
16. “Count Your Blessings”
17. Proverbs 15: 20
18. Character definitions
19. “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
20. “We Three Kings”
21. “Go Tell It on the Mountain”
22. “Are You Washed in the Blood?”
23. Proverbs 1
24. Some trust in chariots verses
25. The Christmas Story
26. Psalms 61:1-3
27. Ten Commandments
28. Verses: Be Kind, Obey, Happy Is the Man
29. Psalms 100
30. Pledge to the Flag
Kayla
1. ABCs
2. Numbers 1-50
3. Old Testament book song
4. Twelve Disciples
5. B I B L E song
6. Twelve Men Went to Spy on Canaan song
7. A says a and a rhyme
8. When Mom or Dad says come….
9. “Happy is the man” verse
10. “Friend Show Self Friendly” verse
11. “Lord’s Prayer”
12. Serving from Galatians 5:13
13. Ten of Twenty-One Rules
14. “Count Your Blessings”
15. Sunday School Rules
16. “We always…”
17. “Go Tell It on the Mountain”
18. “Thanks for the Blood”
19. The Christmas Story”
20. Name and Parents
Cami
1. “Eyes of the Lord are everywhere”
2. Bible Time Nursery Rhymes
3. ABC’s
4. Numbers 1-20
5. Only a Boy Named David
6. When Mom or Dad says come…
7. “Obey Mommy and Daddy”
8. Church rules
9. “Kindness”
10. Twelve Disciples
11. Character qualities
